Road plans

David Kurten: What are your current plans for the future of the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and LEZ?

The Mayor: TfL suspended the operation of road user charging schemes on 23 March to facilitate the movement of London's critical workers and freight vehicles, whose journeys were essential to the early response to COVID-19.
After seven weeks of suspension, the Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) were reinstated on 18 May. At this point, car traffic levels in central Londonhad alreadysurpassedpre-lockdown levelson weekdays. Reintroduction of the charges initially brought car traffic levels back down but after just a week they were already close to normal pre-lockdown levels and predicted to keep rising.
Temporary changes to the Congestion Charge began on 22 June. The key changes include increasing the daily charge from £11.50 to £15 and extending the hours to 10pm, seven days a week.
I asked TfL to introduce additional mitigations to help those who need it most - including extended reimbursements for NHS staff and patient travel - and new reimbursement arrangements for care home workers, local authorities and charities working on the response to the COVID pandemic. All of the changes are temporary and will be kept under review.
The enforcement of new LEZ standards for heavy vehicles will come into force in October 2020 but TfL has agreed to postpone enforcement until the start of March 2021 at the earliest. This is to allow the freight industry to focus on its core operations during the pandemic.
There are no plans to delay the expansion to the ULEZ on 25 October 2021 as individuals and businesses still have nearly 18 months to prepare for the change.
It’s essential that we continue to improve air quality in London, particularly in light of emerging evidence linking air pollution with an increased vulnerability to the most severe impacts of COVID-19.